


cafuné

by aelescribe



Series: infatuation anthology [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Flirting, M/M, some HARDCORE hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 06:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aelescribe/pseuds/aelescribe
Summary: Jason gets tangled up in thoughts of Nico’s hair.





	cafuné

Jason likes Nico’s hair.

Months of war left it greasy and damaged, hanging loose and dark around sallow cheeks. But with peace time and sunshine, its regained its former bounce. Now is it browner and curlier, teasing his eyelashes and wisping his angled ears. Some thin streaks of gray lace it, matching Percy and Annabeth--they’ve chalked it up to the intense trauma and stress Nico’s been through (though there was a good few days of panic around the idea that the Lotus Hotel was finally paying him back with rapid aging).

Jason imagines it soft under his fingertips, resisting just enough for him to untangle it, stroking knots on Nico’s tender head and making him sigh in content. Not that he’s thought about Nico’s hair, its texture and color, every unique undefinable property that was uniquely his expressed in those strands. 

Nope.

Nico’s bangs hang at his eyebrows, brushing his lashes when he dips his head to hide a smile. A smile that Jason caused. Such a minute gesture. But from Nico? It ruptures his stomach, spews butterflies from his mouth and steam from his ears. 

“What?” His bangs curl to the side when he tilts his head to give Jason a quizzical stare. “Something wrong?”

He clenches his fist to keep it at his side. Stop his impulsive fingers from tracing the lines of his shoulder where his curls end. Jason forgot to mention his hair has gotten longer, too. Nico is comfortable with the length even though Reyna taunts him with the threat of a haircut (it’s not convincing when she sits Nico in front of her and brushes through his hair--and she  _ notices _ Jason’s jealous stare before he does and by Zeus she  _ smirks  _ at him). 

He’s mumbled in Jason’s ear during a nap in the grass how it makes him happy to share something in his appearance with Hazel. His hair isn’t quite as long and will never reach the intensity of her curls, but it still makes his chest swell with pride and his sister flush with joy. 

“Everything’s fine,” Jason assures him, and his constrained smile makes Nico pause, but it’s sincere enough to let the question drop. He swallows the lump in his throat. “Just… your hair.”

Nico grimaces. He runs a hand through his hair. Mussing it up and messing up his heart. “That bad, huh?”

“No!” Jason says quickly, so emphatically it surprises them both. “No. I was just thinking… It looks good. Seriously.”

Light color dusts Nico’s cheeks. “Well, I did shower this morning.”  Not that he was paying any particular attention, but Jason noticed. At the beginning of their practice, his hair was still drying. Wet, clinging to the back of his neck. As they fought, the strands dried, regaining their fullness. 

“I can tell,” Jason says simply. “Smells nice.”  _ Nice _ . An understatement. Everytime Nico got close enough to strike, Jason would catch the wistful pine scent in his hair. His knees would go weak. He’d buckle under Nico’s hit and struggled to breathe while Nico gave him a confused laugh. That evergreen aroma makes him warm and dizzy. A pleasant queasiness settles in his stomach. It only grows the longer he stays around Nico. And with that comes guilt burning in his chest.

“I can tell you haven’t,” Nico hums, playful, teasing. 

“We’re sparring, I’ll just shower after. Until then, you’ll have to suffer my musk.”

Nico snorts. “ _ Musk _ ? Gods, Jason--” He laughs, shaking his entire body, hair shrouding his face. “You’re too much.” He regains himself and says, a little softer, “Besides, you have the you smell.”

“The  _ you smell _ ,” Jason repeats.

“Yeah. You smell like…  _ you _ .” Nico shrugs hopelessly and Jason’s heart snaps. He’s too adorable for his own good.

“What do I smell like?” Jason prompts. 

“You smell… Hmm. Cold. Sharp. I can’t explain it, it’s just good. What do  _ I  _ smell like?” Now he cocks a grin, an eyebrow, and his lids drop. Coy and perfect.

So Jason strides forward and starts twirling strands of scented hair around his fingertips, trying not to revel in the way Nico’s face flushes dark red. “You smell like pine. A little lilac, too.”

Nico settles on his wandering fingers. “That’s the shampoo Hazel got me to ward off my death stench.” 

Jason leans closer, experimenting, letting his nose brush the edge of Nico’s ear. “She has good taste. You certainly don’t smell like the dead. But your  _ you smell _ ,“ Nico rolls his eyes even though he’s flustered, “isn’t that bad.” It makes him think of a forest during winter, right on the edge of spring. Snow-soaked tree roots peeking out of the spongy ground. Autumn leaves resurfacing, the tease of summer sun high above. It reminds him of the way each season culminates at the beginning of spring. Because it’s so much, so refreshing, so good, so  _ everything _ \--that’s what Nico is, everything.

“Jason?” Nico asks quietly. His entire face is resting in the crook of Nico’s neck, breathing him in deeply. Jason’s hand is wound around his waist, pulling him closer, pressing him tighter. 

“Right. Sorry.” Jason raises his head and tries to move back, but then Nico stops him, keeping that hand pressed firmly to his side. His fingers trace Jason’s worn knuckles. His hand clamps down firmly over Jason’s, fingers digging into his sides. “Uh. Do you want me to…?”

“You’re not even trying to break away,” Nico muses. “Either you’re that weak, or I’m that strong. I’m going to go with the latter, since I’ve been kicking your ass all day.

_ Oh _ . The challenge in Nico’s voice does funny things to Jason’s head. And his smirk--head tilted, bangs swept to the side.  _ Well. Hmm _ . 

“Maybe I like being this close,” Jason goads. His voice gets deeper, huskier, and watching Nico’s pupils dilate is a sweet victory. He watches Nico closely for any signs of discomfort and raises a hand to rest on Nico’s cheek and fiddle with strands of his hair. His gorgeous hair, making Jason dizzy and wanton.

They should stop, now. They tease, they’ve teased before, and they stop before it gets... like it is now. Usually. A year ago Jason couldn't have imagined ever being this close to Nico. Not only testing these boundaries, but Nico letting him. Nico pushing him to push back. But now he's more comfortable and sure of this part of himself now and the warm sheen of Nico’s hair is blurring Jason’s vision and his closeness makes his stomach do flips. 

“Is that a maybe or a  _ yes _ ?” Nico trembles.

His lips are close, too sweet, too tempting. Jason wants. But he restrains just enough to let his lips only graze the slant of Nico’s cheekbone, inhaling the hair curled over his ear, sweeping his brow. Nico’s hands bunch in the royal fabric of his shirt for balance as they teeter toward the edge of romance. Jason plays with a few of those fine strands again, tracing them down to their split ends. Until at last, they separate from each other.

"Your hair really does look nice today," Jason offers in lieu of an answer. He almost did something stupid, something dangerous, something he can't take back. Would never want to. 

Nico is disappointed but he doesn't contradict him. "Well, your hair looks  _awful_. And you really need to shower." There's a challenge in his voice. The only question is whether or not Jason will take the bait.

Jason's eye ticks. How can he let such a beautiful opportunity go to waste? 

"Make me."

**Author's Note:**

> so this is just gonna be some random drabbles with a loose connection to each other (that being jason becoming increasingly more and more attracted to nico because of his "disgustingly obvious" crush and vice versa). it's also where i can get my fix on these boys gushing over every attribute about each other they admire through cute dialogue and poetic metaphor. yknow, shit like that.
> 
> if you want to read more of my jasico work, check out my profile. i have a few more oneshots and a multichapter fic going on as well. i also take requests. thanks for reading!! c:

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [does it almost feel like](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15508833) by [gnx (LiesArePartiallyTrue)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiesArePartiallyTrue/pseuds/gnx)




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